SMA office relocation
We would like to inform our Members and partners that the SMA office has relocated to the following address with effect from 3 August 2018.
2985 Jalan Bukit Merah
#02-2C, SMF Building
Singapore 159457
Our telephone: (65) 6223 1264 and email: sma@sma.org.sg remain unchanged. However, our fax is discontinued temporarily.
The three professional bodies (PBs), ie, SMA, Singapore Dental Association and Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore, were informed by the Alumni Association (AA) of a rent hike upon the expiry of the lease at 2 College Road on 2 August 2018. Protracted negotiations between the three PBs and AA extended into the middle of July 2018 and the three PBs were unable to afford the new rent demanded by AA (ie, $4.80 psf for a three-year lease, with $4 psf for the first three months). On 17 July 2018, AA informed the three PBs that a Notice to Quit would be served and upon failure of the three PBs to vacate the premises, AA would proceed to impose a default rate of two times the existing rental rate.
That being the case, SMA informed AA on 25 July 2018 that it will vacate 2 College Road by 2 August 2018. Members who are interested in the events that led to our decision to move out of 2 College Road are urged to visit http://bit.ly/2LAWHjp to access the summary of events and important documents between the three PBs and AA, as well as with the relevant authorities.
SMJ impact factor rises to 1.08
We are pleased to announce that the Singapore Medical Journal (SMJ) has improved in its impact factor for the 2017 citation year, from 0.67 (2016 citation year) to 1.08, and now ranks 100 out of 154 journals under the "Medicine, General and Internal" category of the 2018 Journal Citation Reports.
The SMA Council would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to Editor-in-Chief A/Prof Poh Kian Keong, the SMJ Editorial Board and the secretariat for achieving this notable milestone. We wish the journal every success as it aims to expand the body of scientific knowledge in medicine and improve patient care through publishing impactful high-quality papers.
Joint survey on NEHR
SMA, Academy of Medicine, Singapore and College of Family Physicians Singapore collaborated and funded a survey to study the public's understanding of the National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) and collate relevant feedback. The survey also approached specific groups of individuals who may not routinely access social media, various media platforms or public feedback mechanisms via face-to-face interviews, to solicit their opinion and thoughts. The report is published in this month's SMA News (see page 15). Preliminary results and findings were shared with the Ministry of Health who also took the opportunity to provide their response on the survey in a companion statement.